CERUS CORP Revenue Disclosure

Revenue

Revenue is recognized when (i) persuasive evidence of the arrangement exists; (ii) delivery has occurred or services have been rendered; (iii) pricing is fixed or determinable; and (iv) collectability is reasonably assured. The Company’s main sources of revenues for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, were product revenue from sales of the INTERCEPT Blood System for platelets and plasma (“platelet and plasma systems” or “disposable kits”) and UVA illumination devices (“illuminators”).

Revenue related to product sales is generally recognized when the Company fulfills its obligations for each element of an agreement. For all sales of the Company’s INTERCEPT Blood System products, the Company uses a binding purchase order or signed sales contract as evidence of an arrangement. The Company sells its platelet and plasma systems directly to blood banks, hospitals, universities, government agencies, as well as to distributors in certain regions. Generally, the Company’s contracts with its customers do not provide for open return rights, except within a reasonable time after receipt of goods in the case of defective or non-conforming product. Deliverables and the units of accounting vary according to the provisions of each purchase order or sales contract. For revenue arrangements with multiple elements, the Company determines whether the delivered elements meet the criteria as separate units of accounting. Such criteria require that the deliverable have stand-alone value to the customer and that if a general right of return exists relative to the delivered item, delivery or performance of the undelivered item(s) is considered probable and substantially in the control of the Company. Once the Company determines if the deliverable meets the criteria for a separate unit of accounting, the Company must determine how the consideration should be allocated between the deliverables and how the separate units of accounting should be recognized as product revenue. Consideration received is allocated to elements that are identified as discrete units of accounting. Because the Company has no vendor specific objective evidence or third party evidence for its systems due to the Company’s variability in its pricing across the regions into which it sells its products, the allocation of product revenue is based on best estimated selling price for the products sold. The objective of best estimated selling price is to determine the price at which the Company would transact a sale, had the product been sold on a stand-alone basis. The Company determines best estimated selling price for its systems by considering multiple factors. The Company regularly reviews best estimated selling price. At December 31, 2017 and 2016, the Company had $0.4 million and $0.1 million, respectively, of short-term deferred revenue on its consolidated balance sheets related to future performance obligations. At each of December 31, 2017 and 2016, the Company had less than $0.1 million of long-term deferred revenue included in “Other non-current liabilities” on it consolidated balance sheets related to future performance obligations. Freight costs charged to customers are recorded as a component of product revenue. Taxes that the Company invoices to its customers and remits to governments are recorded on a net basis, which excludes such tax from product revenue.

The Company receives reimbursement under its U.S. government contract with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (“BARDA”) that supports research and development of defined projects. See “Note 14. Development and License Agreements—Agreement with BARDA” below. The contract generally provides for reimbursement of approved costs incurred under the terms of the contract. Revenue related to the cost reimbursement provisions under the Company’s U.S. government contract are recognized as the qualified direct and indirect costs on the projects are incurred. The Company invoices under its U.S. government contract using the provisional rates in the government contract and thus is subject to future audits at the discretion of government. These audits could result in an adjustment to government contract revenue previously reported, which adjustments potentially could be significant. The Company believes that revenue for periods not yet audited has been recorded in amounts that are expected to be realized upon final audit and settlement. Costs incurred related to services performed under the contract are included as a component of research and development or selling, general and administrative expenses in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations. The Company’s use of estimates in recording accrued liabilities for government contract activities (see “Use of Estimates” above) affects the revenue recorded from development funding and under the government contract.